Basic cognitive processes of intelligence

This thesis discusses important issues concerning the basic cognitive processes of intelligence. In recent empirical research on individual differences on cognitive abilities, several cognitive processes have been related to intelligence. Specifically, the capacity of working memory, processing speed or executive function (i.e. attention regulation mechanisms) have been identified as important cognitive correlates of intelligence. Within this thesis, I discuss how cognitive models as measurement tools for theoretically sound indicators of these cognitive processes may enrich research on the basic cognitive processes of intelligence. In addition, I provide an example how to establish that parameters from cognitive models poses trait like properties and thus qualify as adequate predictors of intelligence. Furthermore, I present a new methodological approach for analyzing the worst performance rule, an important phenomenon in intelligence research that has been linked to processing speed and attention regulation. And finally, I present results from an empirical study that aimed to bridge the gap between working memory capacity, processing speed, and executive functions as important predictors of intelligence. All in all, this work summarizes the core aspects of process oriented research on intelligence and outlines how future research may provide more comprehensive results identifying specific process parameters that underlie individual differences in our cognitive abilities